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Many New Businesses are Coming to Livingston

Danielle Santola

Wednesday, February 12, 2014 • 1:21am

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LIVINGSTON, NJ – With the growing success of Livingston’s most recent addition, Anthony Marra’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, the Livingston Business Improvement District (B.I.D.) is expecting several upcoming businesses to experience similar outcomes.

In the coming months, Livingston will be filling vacant spaces with quality stores including: Buy Buy Baby, Cost Cutters World Market, TJ Max, Nordstrom Rack, Summit Medical Group, Investors Bank, Chocolate Works and Great Shapes. In addition, CVS and Bottle King are being relocated to the circle on Mount Pleasant Ave.

According to B.I.D. Executive Director Beth Lippman, these new businesses will not only bring more people into Livingston but will give residents more reasons to shop and dine in Livingston rather than traveling to other towns to do so.

“Any business that sells goods like those of Buy Buy Baby or Great Shapes—well, that’s good for everybody,” said Lippman. “People can get everything they need without having to leave town—and each of these new businesses will help residents shop local, which in turn will help the local business economy.”

According to co-owner Anthony Marra, Jr., Anthony Marra’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, which is located on Mt. Pleasant Avenue and offers a variety of old-school Italian dishes as well as traditional thin-crust pizzas, has seen a flattering number of reservations and returning costumers since opening in January. Marra said he is satisfied by the turnout thus far and is hoping that in the coming weeks the restaurant will be open for lunch as well as deliveries.

“We renovated for eight months and everything is brand new including the equipment,” said Marra. “We went for a New York atmosphere with New Jersey portions—I think, so far, that’s why everyone seems to like it.”

Right now, Both Bottle King and CVS are in the process of relocating to the Livingston Circle, and in March, Great Shapes, a swimwear store will be added to the Little Ones strip mall on Mount Pleasant Avenue.

In addition, Buy Buy Baby and Cost Cutters World Market, a store similar to HomeGoods will also be making their debuts in the spring with TJ Max and Nordstrom Rack expected to join them in October. Other vacant spaces on Northfield Ave. and Eisenhower Parkway are expected to be filled later this year.

“More stores mean more selections,” Lippman said. “Livingston offers a lot of stores with a lot of price ranges, so when people come here it doesn’t have to be just for one thing.”

Lippman also said that Livingston’s existing businesses provide residents as well as visitors with quality in-town options for food, desert, jewelry, men’s clothing, children’s clothing, banking, pharmaceuticals and more.

“Adding good-quality stores will bring more residents and consumers into town, which in turn should bring in more businesses and ultimately help taxes,” said Lippman.

According to Lippman, the only issue that can come from additional restaurants is related to the town’s parking regulations, however, with many commendable selections including the Landmark, Coco Bella, Pizzeta, Nero’s, Calabria, Eppes Essen, Ritz Diner, Livingston Diner, Chef Wong, Livingston Bagel, Ill Vicolo Ristorante, Baumgarts, Sweet Basil, Ill Ripasso, The Strip House, Panevino, Nana’s, Fumio, and now Marra’s, to add a few--Livingston is not in short supply of alternative eateries.

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